By Sharon Berg
Waves
by Diane Girard
Volume Publishing (2021)
What was I expecting inside this simple cover on a seemingly self-published book? I don’t mind admitting I recognized my own prejudice as I opened this book, which was quickly washed away by Diane Girard’s facility with telling tales. As an author of fiction, frankly, it’s difficult to understand how someone who writes with such fluidity and insight into people can remain virtually unknown except by her local Kitchener-area literati.
That first story convinced me, as I have a family member who battles addiction. Her protagonist in Thirty-Day Wonder seemed to verbalize everything I had ever learned about their condition. All it would have taken is to change the names and the tale could have told of my own family member instead. That is how real her work is, and how authentic her characters are. But could she maintain her grip on me through the entire collection?
Waves is a collection of vignettes; it’s easy to imagine are pulled from real life experiences. The characters are so authentic that the reader can visualize sitting in the room with them as they share their tales. Diane Girard presents as something of an enigma. My assumption is that she simply hasn’t been discovered yet. That should change dramatically if enough readers are made aware of her debut collection.
I was immediately impressed by this collection of short tales, both for her facility with language and for her deep observations of the motivation of her character’s experience. Yes, there are fresh characters in every tale, and each of them is presented with new problems. While these stories are quiet on the surface, each has an undertow that exerts a pull on the reader’s imagination. In other words, the title of this volume is appropriate as each story exhibits the energy of waves with their undertow.
Lori Hahnel says Girard treats her characters, “with kindness, with humour and always with respect.” This is true, but there is something even more important about these stories. Each one reads as so thoroughly authentic that every character feels like they are someone that you know or are bound to meet. Most of these tales deal with people experiencing some gritty trial in their lives, but Girard’s connection to their inner thoughts is both clean and brilliant. It may be a woman resisting her addiction to drugs as in Thirty-Day Wonder, a worker who worries about a cranky; and independent elder on her care list in Unlocked, or someone who counsels a friend who is leaving her husband in The Prevalence of Chocolate. All of these stories are told with a depth of heart that is rare for a first collection.
Are there any stumbles along the way? Yes, there are a few. Her story of an ex-soldier rings true except for the portrait of his PTSD within the tale Unlocked, which ironically lacks the emotional connection to make it believable. It isn’t difficult to predict the ending to Peach Fuzz and Sunflowers, as Rosalie mistakes the young man paid to do her yard work for her long-passed husband with an even more predictable, but less believable, result. Yet, each story opens with an unusual setting, the dialogue of the characters is ever-so authentic, and the endings usually give us a satisfying twist. Overall, this is a remarkable first collection.
Sharon Berg writes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, book reviews, and articles. She has published poems in periodicals across the world, as well as several books of poetry, chapbooks, and short fiction collections.